DAVIE — Laremy Tunsil is striving for perfection, even though he knows it’s not possible.

Miami’s offensive line has been far from perfect, though Tunsil has been better in the last two games than he was in his first two at left tackle.

But Tunsil had an interesting take on an adjustment that must take place when a first-year quarterback like Jay Cutler steps into a huddle.

Tunsil’s message to Cutler?

Trust us.

“The quarterback has to trust us because he’s new here,” Tunsil said Wednesday. “It’s just more of him trusting us. And it comes with time. The more trust he has in us the better we’ll do.”

Cutler has been under pressure too often. But he’s also made skittish decisions at times.

Sometimes Cutler has held the ball too long. Sometimes Cutler has rushed a throw, without setting his feet, resulting in inaccuracy.

Cutler’s comments seemed in line with Tunsil’s assessment on Wednesday.

“Yes, it’s something that you’ve just got to always fight,” Cutler said of rushed footwork. “You’ve always got to fight that and just trust that those guys are going to give you a good pocket, set the edge and let you work in there. So it’s that constant battle of when to leave, when to stay.”

Cutler has been sacked 10 times in four games.

By comparison, Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore was sacked once in four games last season.

Though Branden Albert was traded, Tunsil was projected as an upgrade at left tackle. And Miami’s offensive linemen are, generally, the same.

Though Tunsil has steadily improved each game this season, the opener was a struggle. Tunsil was beaten by Melvin Ingram and Chris McCain for sacks. It appeared in that game that Tunsil was going to need some time to re-adjust to tackle after playing guard last season.

“Of course I haven’t been happy with myself,” Tunsil said. “I don’t like giving up sacks. And I don’t like messing up at all. I’m so hard on myself, any little mistake I want to fix. I want to be perfect. But that’s the beauty of it. You can’t be perfect. It’s something you strive for.”

Dolphins coach Adam Gase said Wednesday that Tunsil has played better in Games 3 and 4 after playing not as well in Games 1 and 2.

“The thing that we have to keep remembering is this is his first year playing left tackle in the NFL,” Gase said. “It’s a tough position. You’re going against good rushers week in and week out. There is no small school you’re going to play. There’s no breather game for you in the NFL. Every game is going to be a tough game. It’s just going to be that constant preparation, making sure that day in and day out, you’re working to get better and when you hit Sunday, you’ve just got to have the mindset that it’s not going to be easy.”

Gase referenced the “growing pains” of Tunsil’s “rookie” season at left tackle.

Of course, Miami’s entire offense has been dealing with growing pains.

“There is always room for improvement,” Tunsil said of his play. “I always try to find something I can improve in my game.”

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About the Authors

Jason Lieser has covered sports in Chicago, New Orleans and now South Florida

Joe Schad is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post who covers the Miami Dolphins. He previous covered sports for ESPN, the Orlando Sentinel and Newsday.

After 19 years as a sports writer, copy editor and assistant sports editor at The Miami Herald, Hal Habib joined The Palm Beach Post's sports department in 1998. Areas of coverage range from the Olympics, Kentucky Derby and Super Bowl to local sports.